Bishop of Duhok (Chaldean)
Azad Sabri Shaba was born on February 1, 1966, in Shaqlawa (Iraq). He completed his studies in philosophy and theology at the Patriarchal Seminary in Baghdad. Ordained a priest on January 11, 1991, for the Archeparchy of Erbil, he served as assistant pastor in the Shaqlawa community until 1994, and subsequently as pastor until 2002. From 2002 to 2006, he was Rector of the Minor Seminary in Baghdad. He moved to Rome for further studies, obtaining a Licentiate in Moral Theology from the Alphonsian Academy in 2009. Upon returning to Shaqlawa as pastor, he taught Moral Theology at the Institute of Theology and Philosophy of Babel College in Erbil until his appointment as Protosyncellus of the Archeparchy of Erbil in 2010. In 2014, he completed his doctorate in Rome and was subsequently assigned to provide pastoral care for the Chaldean community in Sweden. He speaks Arabic, Kurdish, Italian, English, and Swedish.